Sonny And The Sunsets

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If The Velvet Underground had come up through San Francisco—with all the mellow, psychedelic floweriness that implies—it might’ve sounded something like Sonny & The Sunsets. Backed by a quirky supergroup of sorts (including Kelley Stoltz and members of The Dry Spells, Thee Oh Sees, and Skygreen Leopards), frontman Sonny Smith recreates the era’s beach-slacker haze, but with Lou Reed’s lethargic vocal style as a guiding light. The effortless guitars, relaxed percussion, and occasional fuzz of distortion and reverb provide a low-key vibe, but Smith’s drowsy vocals make it a particularly dazed affair. While there aren’t an abundance of tracks to appreciate independently—with the exception of the reflective “Too Young To Burn,” driven by a riff perfect for cruising the coast on a cool summer night, and the bouncing, airy “Love Among Social Animals”—the album as a whole is charming in its simplicity.